Kayak Equipment

Q-Kayaks quote and interactions from September 2009

Thanks for the opportunity to quote on your canoe polo requirements. Forgive my asking, but it seems a little strange to be buying this amount of equipment from as far away as New Zealand. Retail prices combined with shipping costs to the East Coast of the States would greatly exceed prices of similar equipment you could buy locally. Would you please confirm it is our brand of kayaks and what brand of equipment you are after. There are a number of options.

Mark:

Yes. We do have some value in establishment of a connection to New Zealand.
First, we do NOT play Kayak Polo here — as you do. We don’t have these boats
in our shops. We do have REI and we do have Dicks — but they are not
with the bumpers, etc.

Ours is an “International School” and we hope to deploy a whole
swimming school also on the NZ Swim ‘method.’ I’ve been at Wharenui
Swim Club when in Christchurch and want to do some exchanges with
coaches and such too.

The skirts / velcro neoprine Rasdex materials — one size fits all —
is great and I’ve not seen that here either. That is made in CC and I
feel it is worthy.

Plus, getting the boats, and all in a package — we’ll be in a better
hope of having them work together.

As to the brand of kayak, perhaps there is something that can be
imported different from you or you could suggest to us. ??

The options as to the brand / quality and such is something that I put
more into your realm of trust. What do they have at QEII? Is there a
boat that can hold up in a school setting better?

Furthermore, I hope to get kids into these boats — ages 12 and 13
mainly. Not many HEAVY AMERICANS I dare say. They’ll watch.

So, if I had the quote in the next five days, that would be great.
Mostly, I’d like peace of mind that you’d want the business and make
the effort.

We’ll hear back from the school district in December. But final
negotiations would occur in January.

The school district wants to service 2,500 kids in grades 6, 7 and 8
for July 2010. All of this is NEW to them. But, it will be a two year
cycle, we expect. My vision is to get 12 new boats / fleet each year,
comlete with equipment. Then we’d expand and perhaps either retire
and/or sell off some of the older equipment.

Q-Kayaks

canoeworld@xtra.co.nz, 9/20/09

Please find attached our quote from Q-Kayaks Ltd. Q-Kayaks and Canoe &
Outdoor World are owned by the same people, hence the connection. Further
information regarding the kayak and equipment specifications can be found on Q-K’s website: https://www.q-kayaks.co.nz. The Cyclone is an ideal kayak for your needs.

All of these items are from the same source as we would have suggested.
However, the Rasdex spray deck that we spoke of earlier would be a little
more expensive. Neoprene deck with abrasion strip, and tube with an
adjustable Velcro closure at the top of the tube would be $150 (excl gst).

Freight rates quoted are current at this time, but could change prior to
shipment date.

I hope this gets to you in time to lodge your application, and that you are successful in acquiring the funding in the new year. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Attachments

The quote you provided is perfect. Thanks for your help so far. I’ll
put it into the mix for funding.

But bad news in 2018, Q-Kayaks to close!

Five stars is ideal. One star is not.

Question 1:

What is the jersey / shirt that the players wear? This seems to be
missing from the quote. Right?

What do you suggest? What is it called? A splash guard?

One team is white while other team is blue — or some such color. They
wear them for both identification and for keeping water off of body —
right?

Can you quote this for us too?

Are there different jersey’s for outdoors vs indoors? Long sleeve vs.
Short sleeve? How are teams identified?

I imagine all the boats are the same colors, — right?

Question 2:

Lifejackets are not part of the quote either. The polo jackets need to
have side protection, right? Extra so if a boat hits the body then
there is protection of kidney, right?

Question 3:

What other bits of equipment might we consider? For storage? For
example, would it be good and prudent to have a deck that covers the
kayak hole for storage and transport? This might keep leaves, mud out
of the boat, critters out too. Is this a good thing to have?

How much $ each? They would need to fit the opening of the boats.

The trailer is something we should get here in the USA. Do you have
any suggestions?

Q-Kayaks <canoeworld@xtra.co.nz>

I didn’t include a quote for jackets as polo is usually played indoors in
heated pools, or outside in warm water. A rash shirt or similar
tight-fitting thermal layer usually suffices. If however a top is necessary,
then you may be able to source these generic items locally at a cheaper
cost. If we were to supply, then long or short sleeve tops (depending on the
temperature) worn under the buoyancy vest, made from waterproof/breathable fabric with tight cuffs and adjustable neck seals would be best.

Teams are identified by their buoyancy vest/personal floatation device (PFD)
colour and number. Yes, there are specific requirements of the PFD such as
side padding etc. Originally you didn’t ask for PFD prices so I left that
off. Also, in the States there are very strict requirements for life jackets
and the like. There is a very good chance that anything designed and
manufactured here in NZ would not have been tested to USA of Canadian
standards. Without that sort of certification, you would probably run into
legal problems with their use. I would suggest that you source these
locally, or from Europe/UK as theirs may have been tested.
www.canoesandkayaks.co.uk is the site of one UK retailer who’s site suggests
their pfd’s are “used by polo teams all over the world”, though they do not
specify North America. Some North American brands will come in a basic
design with side foam and sufficient room for full arm movement, and be
certified to Coast Guard standards.

Kayak colours may be all the same, or each team may have a different colour
to help identify them. We are able to manufacture boats to your
specifications, and our colour chart can be seen on Q-Kayaks web site.

Regarding storage, the boats are best kept indoors and most certainly out of
direct sunlight. UV rays cam damage the plastic over time. They may be
stored flat or standing up (as long as the bumpers are not damaged)
depending on the space you have available. If however they are to be stored
outside face-down under cover, then cockpit covers would help in keeping
them clean and clear of wind blown rubbish etc. We can do these for you in
neoprene or nylon at NZ$55 and NZ$45 (excluding gst) respectively.
Alternatively, some heavy gauge polythene tied with shock-cord around the
rim would be a cheaper option for long term storage.

Other equipment should be stored under cover in a dry ventilated area.

Cyclone kayak

The cyclone complies with international standards. A competitive, yet stable ‘user friendly’ polyethylene polo kayak, the Cyclone has fast forward speed and is easy to manoeuvre. It is also an excellent kayak for teaching kayaking skills in the pool.